Rail passengers 'being priced off trains'

Train passengers who buy their tickets on the day of their journey are being
priced off the rails, campaigners will claim this week.

By David Harrison

12:32AM BST 29 Jun 2008

Research carried out by the Campaign for Better Transport has found that tickets bought on the day of travel cost up to seven times more than those bought in advance.

The report, which will be released this week, warns that the high prices for "turn-up-and-go" tickets have made it cheaper for rail passengers to use their cars, even at a time of rising fuel prices.

Stephen Joseph, the group's executive director, said: "The growing gap between advance and walk-on tickets is making it impossible for many people to afford to travel on the day.

"We have to have reasonably cheap walk-on fares or people will walk on straight into their cars, adding to congestion and pollution."

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the number of cheap advance tickets available is strictly limited. When the discounted tickets run out, even passengers who book in advance have to pay the full fare at peak times.

However, Tom Harris, the rail minister, has defended the pricing policy, saying that people should expect to pay more, because the quality of trains has improved.

"There is no evidence that fares are putting people off using the trains," he said. "As long as people have more access to lower fares with the internet that is a workable and affordable system."

Full details of the growing price gaps between tickets will be disclosed by the Campaign for Better Transport this week but an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph unearthed huge disparities in the costs of journeys – including some peak-time walk-on fares that cost more than eight times the price of an advance ticketThe peak return fare from London to Penzance costs £257 if bought on the day – more than eight times the £30 cost of buying two single tickets in advance

• The London-Preston peak return fare on the day is £238, more than seven times the £33 advance fare

• A peak "walk-on" return from London to Birmingham will set a traveller back £123, compared with £21 – about a sixth of the price – for the advance ticket

• A peak-time passenger travelling from Newcastle to London will pay £249 on the day but only £42 in advance

• An advance return ticket from Glasgow to Manchester costs £20, compared with up to £169 for walk-on purchasers, once the limited number of £76 saver tickets runs out.

On some routes full fare tickets must be bought if passengers want to arrive at their destinations during peak-time, even if the train leaves before the rush hour.

Rail campaigners have blamed the Government rather than the train operators, as ministers have told the companies to increase the proportion of their income from fares to 75 per cent from the present 50 per cent, to cut subsidies. The Government has already raised the amount by which rail companies are allowed to increase ticket prices annually, from 1 per cent below inflation to 1 per cent above inflation.

Passenger Focus's annual survey of passenger satisfaction, to be released next month, is expected to show travellers are most concerned about prices and overcrowding.

Anthony Smith, the organisation's director, said: "People like to turn up and go and not buy tickets in advance and we're concerned that they are becoming much less affordable because of these back-door price rises."

Demand for rail travel is booming, with more passengers now than at any other time since the Second World War. But critics said the Government's strategy raised questions about its commitment to persuading motorists to use public transport.

Campaigners and industry insiders believe that rail should receive government subsidies to keep prices down, attract more passengers and help to reduce CO2 emissions. Figures released last week show the Government's spending on the railways will be cut to £3.7billion this year, compared to £4.6billion in 2006. Over the same period spending on roads has increased by almost £1billion to £7.5bn.

Mr Harris said the Government was investing £15billion in railways in the next five years and the priority was to increase capacity.

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operators said: "The vast majority of fares offer value for money if passengers are prepared to offer some flexibility."